Cardiff Games Developers part of successful trade delegation to San Francisco

The Welsh Government has announced funding support for the next two years to maintain the momentum of the Wales Games Development Show – a national and international showcase to promote Welsh talent and expertise in the sector.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart said funding support will ensure the show will remain a key, stand alone, annual event in the UK Games calendar and will build on its successes to date.

Mrs Hart said:

“The Welsh Government is committed to developing the Welsh games sector which is a rapidly growing, high profile, high value element of the creative industries. We have considerable talent in Wales which is fostered by our further and higher education institutions and have a growing cluster of highly successful companies working in a very competitive global market.

“I am pleased the Welsh Government is supporting the Wales Development Show which attracts hundreds of delegates every year and provides a forum for the development of Welsh games businesses and exchange of creative ideas within the UK and internationally. It is also a great platform to promote what Wales can offer companies in terms of a business location.”

The news follows a successful Welsh Government trade mission to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco – the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers.

Fourteen companies from Wales participated in the event with Pencoed based Wales Interactive gaining the distinction of being the only company from the UK invited by Microsoft to feature their latest title, Soul Axiom, on the Xbox showcase stand. They were also one of only four UK companies who represented Xbox with their titles at the event.

Wales Interactive MD David Banner described it as a huge achievement for the company – a multi-award winning independent video games developer and publisher – that really helped raise the profile of their latest game and studio.

He said:

“ This has in turn raised awareness of the Welsh games industry globally and demonstrated that our emerging sector in Wales can compete on the world stage. Soul Axiom was also supported by the Welsh Government’s digital development fund and it’s great to see the game receiving such universal praise at the event.”

Soul Axiom has been described as a compelling cyber-thriller, with a beautiful visual style that matches its high-concept premise.

David Banner added:

“The game was created entirely at our Pencoed studio and uses state of the art technology enabling us to make the first truly high end multi-platform console game to be developed in Wales.”

The Game Developers Conference also provided Cardiff based Dakko Dakko with new business opportunities. The event coincided with the PlayStation launch of ‘Scram Kitty DX’, a new version of their critically acclaimed video game ‘Scram Kitty’, which was created with support from the Welsh Government’s Digital Development Fund.

Dakko Dakko founder Rhodri Broadbent said:

“ It generated a lot of interest for us and our attendance at the show enabled us to continue discussions with key contacts and to begin new relationships with potential partners for our new game – tentatively titled ‘Project Serpent’ – which is currently in the prototype phase.”